Blackhawks' Hall week-to-week with upper-body injury
Published
Chicago Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall is week-to-week after sustaining an upper-body injury in Wednesday's loss to the Boston Bruins, head coach Luke Richardson announced.
The veteran winger took a hit from Bruins defenceman Brandon Carlo early in the second period near centre ice. He was slow to get up and went to the dressing room and although he did return for one shift later in the frame, Chicago's training staff shut him down for the night afterward.
“It was unfortunate. We just have to plow through. He was playing really well for us,” Richardson said via NHL.com. “He came out for one more and he just said he just wasn't feeling good enough and the trainer said, ‘That's it for tonight.’ So, we'll try and re-evaluate as we go to see what he's doing. But I think, especially being in Boston, he really wanted to get back out there and give it a go.”
Carlo was not assessed a penalty on the play.
The 31-year-old Hall is in his first season with the Blackhawks since coming over in a deal with the Bruins this past summer. Hall has one assist through two games played this season and tallied 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games with Boston last season. Hall is in the third season of a four-year, $24 million contract he signed with the Bruins in July of 2021.
A bright spot from Wednesday's loss
While losing Hall and the game took some of the air out of the Blackhawks' sails after a comeback victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in their season-opener the night before, there was something for Blackhawks fans to be excited about.
No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard accounted for Chicago's only goal of the night, scoring the first of his career on a wrap-around effort in the opening period.
The 18-year-old took a shot from a bad angle near the bottom of the Pittsburgh circle and was denied by Linus Ullmark. But Bedard quickly scooped up the loose puck behind the net and beat Ullmark to the far post, giving the Blackhawks an early 1-0 lead.
"It's a big relief," Bedard told reporters after the game. "You want to get one really bad, quick, and kind of get that out of the way. But it was really cool moment and cool building to do it in.”
Bedard also picked up an assist in his NHL debut against the Pens the night before.